Figure 1.--American Scouts through the 1930s mostly war knickers. The one exception was at camp or at Jamborees. For these ecents the BSA mosdtly insisted on a short pants uniform.

Unlike boys in other countries, American Scouts wore knickers rather than short pants. Even so there were official Boy Scout shorts. American Scouts wore them at camp and at Jamborees. I have no details at this time about the stylistic details. It was not until the 1950s that large groups of Scouts would venture onto streets in them. One troop was among the first to embrace short pants in the 1930s and was readily recognized (and jeered and respected) as the "short pants troop" even into the late 1940s and early 1950s. The BSA in the 1950s began a program of promoting short pants for Scouting, especially during the sumer. They were required wear at all National Jamborees and many camps. Scout shorts in the 1950s had pants with buttoned flap pockets and red piping, similar to Cub shorts only in different colors. The shorts by the 1960s had ordinary slit pockets, I am not sure when the change was made. Scout shorts still had button flys in the 1950s and I believe the early 1960s, but witched to zippers suring the decade. Scouts in the 1970s began wearing shorts much more commonly in the 1970s. The olive green shorts were replaced with brown shorts with patch pockets as part of the major uniform change in 1981. The same stylistic changes were made in Scout long pants as well. These are the shorts still worn. The only changes have been in the leng of the shorts, the length following fashion trends.

Distinctive American Attitude

Unlike boys in other countries, American Scouts wore knickers rather than short pants. Even so there were official Boy Scout shorts. American Scouts wore them at camp and at Jamborees. I am not sure why American Scouts varied so much from Scouts in other countries. Most Americam boys just did not like the idea of wearing short pants. Many thought that they were only suitable fr very young boys.

Chronology

We have at this time only limited information on chronological trends in American Scout shorts. We have no information at this time indicating that any American Scouts wore short pants in the 1910s. All the images we have seen show the boys wearing knickers. We are not entirely sure why American Scouts adopte knickers rather than shorts. Presumabl\y it was becuse shorts were not very poplsar song teen age boys in America. The American Scouts continued to wear knickers in the 1920s. They were just about the only national roup that did notwear shorts. They did wear shorts at BSA camps or when attnding Jamborees in Europoe. We have no details at this time about the stylistic elements. American Scouts through the 1930s mostly wore knickers through the 1930s. The one exception was at camps and jamborees. The Boy Scout Association in the 1930s and 40s promoted the short pants uniform. Apparently the BSA wanted American Scouts to be more like the Scouts in other countries. The monthly magazine, especially during the summer months, would often have a full page showing the merits of wearing the short pants uniform. The promotions, however, do not seem to have been very effective, especially in the In the 1930s. American Scouts were still wearing knickers at the beginning of the decade. The BSA dispensed with knickers in the early 1940s and most boys began wearing long pants. I know of no change made on the Scout shorts. It was not until the 1950s that large groups of Scouts would venture onto streets in them. One troop was among the first to embrace short pants in the 1930s and was readily recognized (and jeered and respected) as the "short pants troop" even into he late 1940s and early 1950s. The BSA in the 1950s began a program of promoting short pants for Scouting, especially during the sumer. They were required wear at all National Jamborees and many camps. Scout shorts in the 1950s had pants with buttoned flap pockets and red piping, similar to Cub shorts only in different colors. The shorts by the 1960s had ordinary slit pockets, I am not sure when the change was made. Scout shorts still had button flys in the 1950s and I believe the early 1960s, but the BSA switched to zippers suring the decade. Scouts still primarily wore long pants, except at camp, but shorts were becoming more accetable casual short pants increased i popularty among American boys. Scouts in the 1970s began wearing shorts much more commonly in the 1970s. The olive green shorts were replaced with brown shorts with patch pockets as part of the major uniform change in 1981. The same stylistic changes were made in Scout long pants as well. These are the shorts still worn. The only changes have been in the leng of the shorts, the length following fashion trends.